s&p up about 10.5. out an e-mail to reporters futures turned around. basically calling cain's 999 hopefully a positive open and positive close. back to you. plan a disaster for the country >> carter evans. saying it would wreck the u.s. weren't you going to tell us about a green job? economy. just give us one suggestion. if herman cain is going to win >> yes, a great job, best jobs the nomination, guys, he has to for saving the world, public convince republicans that his schoolteach 999 plan of more than just schoolteacher. this is part of the cnnmoney.com delivery-style marketing. as for mitt romney, he came off series. theseries. median pay, $50,000 a year. a very -- i would say smooth and >> not exactly a great job, but a job that may save the world easy day almost. he walked into the debate pretty anyway. carter evans, many thanks. "american morning" continues right now. confidentially, and no question why. a brazen terror plot foiled. secured a big endorsement from i'm ali velshi. chris christie yesterday. that preebl helped. the u.s. accusing iran of >> the big loser in the debate, rick perry. conspiring with mexican drug he looked like a shell's rick lords to kill a saudi ambassador perry. no sense of excitement about on american soil. him. a bold scheme raising tensions seemed very california, at times between the two countries and nervous. i want to go back to herman cain putting american travelers on high alert. to ask you, does herman cain mitt romney rising. really have a chance? i'm christine romans. he doesn't have nearly the money the republican candidate that mitt romney or rick perry has, frankly, and eight of solidifying his front-runner position in the latest analysts don't see how he can raise that much money and the republican debate while. 999 plan does sound simple and

at least it's a plan and that resonates with voters, but most economists say it wouldn't be and forcing to use tear gas good for the country, and it would hurt the poor, actually, to control rioting inmates. in this country. >> reporter: right. yeah, and when you put these i'm carol costello on this questions to herman cain he b w "american morning." blows them ot and says your -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com analysis is incorrect. you don't have the facts straight. last night he offered up an good morning. it is wednesday, october 12th. economist, or someone he called an economist saying this person welcome to "american morning," and it is a busy one. has basically signed off on my >> sure is. economic plan, a man named rich politics and this amazing terror lowry. turns out he's not an economist, plot. first up, iranian and mexican he's a financial planner in cleveland, ohio. so questions are starting to be drug lords, part of an alleged raised about herman cane cann plot foiled by the u.s. got, and knew this morning, the state and so cain and this plan. department issuing a rare i will tell you, he's not doing badly in places where i'm worldwide warning, warning standing here in new hampshire. americanss to be on guard he had a lot of supporters yesterday despite the fact he's against terrorist attacks this barely visited the state. time out of iran. >> interesting. >> naturalized united states jim acosta, thank you. president obama says he will citizen who holds and iranian now create several smaller jobs

passport arrested last month in new york accused of working with bills after the senate defeated his $474 billion proposal. members of the iranian corps to every republican senator voted devise a murder for hire scheme against the president's bill along with a few democrat. final vote, 50-49, shy of the 60 targeting the saudi ambassador to the united states. >> reporter: their plan, spend votes needed to pass it. $1.5 million to hire a mexican changing position on health care. so we want to know, does that drug cartel to blow up a matter to you? it's our "talk back" question of the morning. restaurant while the ambassador dined inside, but the drug and using tear gas to regain cartel members contacted turned control of a prison in oklahoma. out to be undercover dea agents. this, after an all-out riot. check that out. >> when they noted there could we'll tell you about it when we come back. be 100 or 150 people in a erapy, fictional restaurant where the it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse requested bombing would take place, including possibly who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. members of the united states congress, the lead defendant, technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. acting on behalf of a component the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. of the government of iran said, no problem, and no big deal. >> reporter: a senior counterterrorism official was denied entry from mexican

authorities. he flew to new york, taken into custody and interrogated 12 days. >> not only got a confession from him, you see that in the complaint, they also got dozens of intelligence reports and leads. >> reporter: his co-conspirator remains at large this morning. a member of the qods force, a branch of the islamic revolutionary guard suspected in attacks against troops overseas. >> its worked with the qods force. bringing weapons systems into iraq that kill u.s. soldiers. >> reporter: they tell cnn, the consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken saudi ambassador was not the women only intended target. men they discussed attacking israeli and uh pandas... and saudi embassies in elbows mmm washington, and possibly in [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. buenas aires argentina. iran is calling it a distraction and attempting to distract from the slowing economy.

>> the iranians have crossed the red line. if this had been carried out, talk about an act of murder carried out by a foreign government on our soil of a foreign diplomat. basically, an act of war. >> senior u.s. diplomats are expected to call caplace calls foreign leaders today to get tougher on iran. operatives with the iranian government conspiring with mexican drug dealers to kill a saudi ambassador on american soil, in case you missed howipp can i help you? yeah, can i get a full-sized car? forfor convertibles, please stepress star one.ing menu. down. chad sweet a former cia i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. official, former chief of staff for homeland security joins us representative. goodbye! live from washington this you don't like automated customer service, morning. good morning. good to see you. and neither do we. >> good morning. that's why, unlike other cards, >> chad, there have been the no matter when you call chase sapphire preferred, you immediately get a person not a prompt. expected responses saying this chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. nonsense, a fabrication and use

colorful language to describe (phone ringing) what a fabrication is. chase sapphire preferred, this is julie in springfield. do we really know that it's not? be cynical. sound quite grand and fascinating. >> the classic iranian m.o. to try to put this back on us and to try to make them look like the victim. i tell you what i can spend. i can assure you that attorney i do my best to make it work. general holder and fbi director i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. muller would not have made the that's personal pricing. assertive statements they made if we did not have in our possession a very strong intelligence connecting this plot directly to factions with the iranian government. welcomes back to "american >> what's your sense, if the morning." a wild scene at a prison in western oklahoma where a iranians were going to go full-scale riot broke out through with this were trying to yesterday. authorities say there were fights in several areas of the achieve? iran shiite, saudi arabia being north facility. sunni, but wouldn't there be an easier way or place to kill a police stormed the prison using saudi ambassador than in the tear gas to quell the violence united states? >> in some respects, no, ali, and at least 20 inmates were because if you think about it, injured. front row playoff seats come it is virtually unthinkable they with a pretty stiff price. not talking just the price of

would attempt this type of the tickets. blazen plot on our soil. sixth inning, alcs playoff game to use the u.s. as a in detroit. battleground for retaliation against an enemy like the saudis texas' josh hamilton swings, is trying to exploit the fact that the united states has had no attack on u.s. soil since misses, hits a man in the front 9/11 other than the fort hood row. watch again. wow. shooter and takedown of one that's got to hurt. medical personnel checked out marine corps recruiter in the fan. there goes the bat. arkansas, which were tragic events. the bottom line, this is a more safe operating environment. ow. oh. >> you know what? he was okay. from that respect they felt they he stayed for the rest of the probably could pull this off and game. have a double cutout in order to several has a hangover he didn't provide some level of anticipate and a story to tell. deniability. >> wow. >> i hope they gave him the bat. interesting that it would be safer, or easier to do that here, than somewhere else. >> i'm surprised. i want it signed by josh what happens next? the iranian government is saying hamilton. >> once you get hit like that in they have no connection to this whatsoever, but there are two the head, you shouldn't stay for guys -- well, one person in the rest of the game. >> i would have stayed for the custody. two charged. rest of the game. one would be a member of the >> you're absolutely right. iranian guard. what happens next? should have gone home. >> how did the gym go? >> well, what's extremely >> it went great. puzzling right now is that as tigers won, baby. they play today, this afternoon.

in case you're interested. they look to take retaliation, let's talk about hurricane in this case, attribution has jova that hit mexico. actually, it's hitting mexico not been a problem. just about now. this individual basically rob marciano is in the extreme confessed and spent 12 days weather center. is it doing damage? >> not tons of damage. providing valuable intelligence some damage to some of the resort town, puerto vallarta and during observations and made reported calls back to iran, which were, obviously, traced by now category 1, winds 85 miles us. an hour. so i think the evidence stream not a huge storm. here is extremely strong. it was at one point. what's not clear is whether this you see the eye's gone away. went all the way up to the the rain is the big deal. supreme leader in iran, mountains here go up in a hurry. it's going to tear this storm khomeini, and at the end of the apart fairly rapidly but the day, that country composed of rain hangs a lot a little bit. different sanctions. the track. some are theo crats, some are brings it to a remnant low autocrats and often vie for quickly. certainly coastal flooding. power. this wouldn't be the first time damage reports throughout the afternoon today, i'm sure. the revolution area guard went speaking of rain, light to moderate stuff that's making its rogue, but secretary clinton way up through the i-95 corridor have have to take extreme from d.c. through baltimore, philly, eventually to new york measures to move for sanctions and back through the ohio river and candidly, the evidence trail valley, cincinnati and eastward is so strong, that may not look towards youngstown and pittsburgh seeing some rain.

like enough. that may look like a wrist slap the heaviest amounts probably around philly. traveling through our out at rather than a real punishment. that airport, probably see >> not a lot has gotten through action as far as delays. u.s. intelligence in the last new york, d.c. as well and then the next batch of thunderstorms ten years, you mentioned, which comes through the midwest today, would lead you to believe in and in advance of that, terms of foiling plots that temperatures still on the mild we've seen so far, u.s. side. 76 in chicago. intelligence is batting 80 degrees in memphis. something like 1,000. the middle of october, some that's not usually a sustainable spots certainly feels like september or august. average. >> exactly right, ali. you look at, other than fort back to you. hood and arkansas, the arkansas >> thank you, rob. now's your chance to "talk back" on one of the big stories recruiter, which any loss of life is tragic, but to go -- i of the day. the question for you this morning, does mitt romney's don't think any one of us would changing position on health care matter to you? have bet on 9/12 that we would the biggest thorn in mitt romney's side is romneycare. see over a decade with this that's what his opponents call the health care plan romney created in massachusetts when he level of success in security. was governor. to get human sources into these turns out the obama administration was entranced sleeper cells is extremely with romney's plan and according difficult, and the fbi and dea to nbc news, obama officials and others continue to do it actually met with romney's over and over again. we think back to the oregon advisers to create obamacare, christmas tree lighting plot. and, yes. both plans include a requirement the dallas court plot. to buy insurance. the jfk airport plot. over and over again they get romney says, so?

these confidential informants >> the truth is, our plan is into the cells. you're right. different, and the people of we can't expect them to continue to bat close to 1,000 forever. massachusetts, if they don't like it, get rid of it. the american people need to right now they favor it 3-1. understand, this is an extraordinary performance and at some point you can be very good but i'm not running for governor of massachusetts, i'm running and they can still strike us. we have to be right 100% and for president of united states. they only have to be successful i will repeal obamacare, grant a 1% of the time. waiver to get that start and >> chad, thanks for the insight into this. return to the states what we when i was governor, the right a former cia officer and former to care for our poor in the way chief of staff in the department we thought best for our of security and managing principle at the chernoff group. respective states. >> makes you wonder. governor romney on fox news the >> thank you, ali. another presidential debate day he signed that massachusetts law. is in the books. >> but when i set out to find a way to get everybody health the field of eight shared the insurance, i couldn't have cared stage in dartmouth college in new hampshire. less and i don't care less how the focus, the economy. the candidate who surged in the it works politically. in my view it's the right thing polls lately, herman cain. to do. he came under attack. >> so mitt romney was for the cnn's jim acosta was there to individual mandate before he was against it, at least on a see it all and was there live in national level, and he says as hanover, new hampshire. president, he will repeal the good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, very health care law that he carol. another smooth night for mitt inspired. romney because so emergency of so our "talk back" question the focus was on herman cain, today does romney's changing the former godfather's ceo, position on health care matter

to you? probably felt like one of those pizzas last night because his rivals were turning up the heat. facebook.com/americanmorning. >> 999. face bo facebook.com/americanmorni jobs, jobs, jobs. facebook.com/americanmorning. >> should be interesting. coming up on "american morning," mitt romney again >> reporter: herman cain found picking up a critical endorsement from the governor of new jersey. out what happened to gop why chris christie says his candidates who shoot up in the decision was easy. it's 23 minutes after the hour. ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪ polls. they become big targets. >> when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside-down, i think the devil's in the details. >> reporter: take 999. cain's economic plan to scrap the country's current tax system and replace it with one that sets rates for individuals and corporations at 9%. it would also create a new 9% national sales tax. >> i think it's a catchy phrase. in fact, i thought it was the price of a pizza when i first heard it. here's something we need, something that is doable, doable, doable. >> 999 will pass and is not a slice of pizza. >> how many people are here for a sales tax in new hampshire.

raise your hand. there you go -- >> if you keep mentioning 999 and herman cain i'm going to have to go back to him every other question. >> reporter: the dominant role in the debate served up to mitt romney who promptly sent it back to the kitchen. >> can you name all 59 points in your 160 page plan? >> i've had the experience in my life of taking on tough problems. i must admit that simple answers are always very helpful but oftentimes inadequate. >> reporter: and pressed and whether the financial crisis should have led to more prosecutions on wall street. newt gingrich fingered people in washington. >> you ought to start with barney frank and chris dodd and let's look at the politicians who created the environment, the politicians who brought us to this and the politicians who put this country in trouble. >> reporter: and rick perry did ♪ co-signed her credit card -- "buy books, not beer!" ♪ not need to break into what he

needed. he seemed sluggish declining to but the second that she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ offer up specifics. >> opening up a lot of the areas ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ of our domestic energy area. ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ that's the real key, and i'm not ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ going to lay it out for you all tonight. mitt's had six years to be ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ working on a plan. i've been in this about eight ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. weeks. >> reporter: mitt romney looked like the one cruising towards the nomination. >> if you're not willing to stand up to china you'll get run over by china. >> reporter: but the night belonged to cain. even when he said alan greenspan, the man who presided over questionable mortgages when he had the job at the central bank. >> alan greenspan was a disaster. >> reporter: and herman cain is going to have to get used to

that kind of treatment. in the middle of the debate michele bachmann's campaign sent 26 minutes after the hour. welcome back. "minding your business" this morning, right now, u.s. stock futures are sharply higher ahead of the opening bell. and european markets are up, too, after stronger than expected manufacturing data surprised investors in europe. today the european commission is expected to unveil its plan for recapitalization of the region's largest banks. an effort to stave off a looming banking crisis that many leaders and analysts have been warning about for weeks. this morning, opec is out with a new warning saying, world oil demand is down even further. this due to slowing growth and

the global economy. the fourth time in a row its cut its forecast for oil demand. earnings continue for pepsi. a lot of weight on this report if pepsi doesn't just make pepsi, also gator-aid and quaker oats. and the senate is aimed at passing a bill aimed at china, slapping tariffs on chinese imports saying it will make american business more competitive but the bill is not expected to be taken up by the souse. zinga wrapping up its game. the company launched another ten online games at an event in san francisco yesterday including "castleville" zinga bingo and others. farmville made it the most successful company in the booming world of social media gaming. "american morning" will be right back after the break.

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all right. it is 31 minutes after the hour. time for this morning's top stories. the united states announcing it foimed a terror plot, accusing iran of conspiring with mexican drug traffickers to assassinate a saudi ambassador on american soil. two men in custody including an iranian who is a naturalized u.s. citizen. warned to stay alert for possible attacks. the iranian president ahmadinejad calling it a fabrication to distract from a slowing economy. and businessman herman cain was a frequent target during the debate in new hampshire last night. specifically his 999 plan to radically restructure the u.s. tax code came under attack. cain defended the plan as a bold solution, not a politician's solution. and it's on to plan b for president obama's jobs bill now that the senate rejected his

$474 billion package, the white house will break it up into smaller pieces of legislation crowed individually. back to the top story, a terror plot engineered by iran broken up by u.s. agents. what makes this case so disturbing is how brazen the iranians are apparently becoming. let's get the latest on the plan to kill the saudi ambassador on american soil and more about the two suspects in custody from our pentagon colonel barbara starr. what are you learning this morning? >> reporter: christine what the u.s. is really focusing on right now is to see how this plot really was evolving inside the iranian military structure, inside the iranian government. what therapy trying to do is see if they can make that final connection, did they know about this team, the iranian leader. eric holder talked about it as being tied to the al qods force, the most militant wing of the

revolutionary guard corps, but did it go all the way to the top or is there a rogue element in the qods force engaging in this plot. that's weren't of the key fes. >> listen to what was said about this last night, barbara. listen to this. >> i think we should certainly consider some, at least signs of military activity by us, as movement of troops, carriers, whatever, something to indicate how seriously we're taking this. everything should be on the table when talking about a potential attack against the united states. an act of war. >> strong words from the congressman, barbara. any talk of pursuing military action against iran? >> reporter: at the pentagon, all options remain on the table, but nonetheless, at this point i don't think that the u.s. military, of course, at the orders of the president, would be contemplating any immediate action. they need to figure out still, what's their target here? there have been financial

sanctions. we saw more of that yesterday, but can you really target the individuals and the structure inside the iranian government that you believe are responsible for this? and there is some skepticism out there in many parts of the world right now about to what extent the iranian government was really behind all of this? was it all the way to the top? you know, those are the questions that are going to have to be answered. we've been down this road before. this qods force we're hearing so much about. they have, according to the u.s., shipped weapons into iraq and afghanistan that have killed u.s. troops but the u.s. never made the link public, that this goes all the way to the top in aaron and that's still what a lot of people are waiting to see, christine. >> barbara starr at pentagon. thank you, barbara. another emotional day of testimony at the trial of michael jackson's dr. conrad murray. in an audiotaped interview with

police, murray says jackson pleaded for propofol to help him sleep and the doctor finally gave in. >> i wanted to [ inaudible ] during that period [ inaudible ] then i needed to go to the bathroom. so i got up, went to the bathroom. then i came back to his bedside, and discovered that he wasn't breathing. i was gn i wouone i would say p about two minutes. >> saying he overdosed and propofol and conrad failed to revive him. and the front-runner for president is mitt romney and hoping this announcement from christie will cement it.

>> we know he brings the best of both for what we need for america right now. he brings that great private sector experience and he brings the experience as governor of massachusetts knowing how government works. not a legislator trying to figure out how to use executive power, but an executive who's used executive power to make american lives better. that's why i'm endorsing mitt romney for president of the united states. >> christie said his decision to back romney, an easy one. >> and a pastor who labeled his mormon faith a cult. after receiving the endorsement, romney chose not to attack him directly but put the ball in rick perry's court. >> selected and individual to introduce him who then used religion as a basis for which he said he would endorse governor perry and a reason not to support me, and governor perry

then said that introduction just hit it out of the park. i just don't believe that kind of divisiveness based upon religion is a part of this country. i would call for him to repudiate the comments made by the pastor. >> rick perry is refusing to disavow the pastor. and scratch rudy giuliani off the list. speaking at a function on long island saying simply, it's too late for me and analyzed the race between two gop front-runners saying rick perry has the hearts and mitt romney has their heads. and hosting the cnn presidential debate in las vegas. anderson cooper moderates. 8:00 p.m. eastern next tuesday right here on cnn. aren't you going out there? >> i will be out there. front row center. >> awesome. >> very good. still to come this morning, those who aren't fans of the occupy wall street, we are the

99% we brought it to you yesterday. a new movement. we are the 53%. what's that all about? find out when we talk to the man behind the movement. and do you want more than your job offers? the best jobs for saving the world. 38 minutes after the hour.

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good morning and welcome back to "american morning." the occupy wall street crowd really latched on to the idea that its supporters are the 99% of americans tifring it out, either unenploemed, living paycheck to paycheck. we talked about the "are 99% campaign yesterday. we wanted to bring you a smaller countermovement. a new movement for the 53% of americans who say they work, pay their taxes. they're not complain about it. a cnn contributor eric erickson is a brain child of the we are

the 53% movement and he joins us now live. good morning. >> good morning. i wouldn't say i was the brain child. a friend of my came up with it on twitter and i just put up my picture and then others did it as well. >> this resonates with you. what it stands for. a quick example. somebody who put up a picture on the blog saying my first job was a january titor, paid for more s with jobs. i would love a lexus but drive a saturn. i am the 53%. what are they say about the occupy wall street movement or what are they trying to say about the other side of that? >> trying to say, ironically what a lot of the 99%s are saying, they don't speak to me. i'm in the 99% movement but they don't speak for me. life isn't fair. what i hear from the guys on the occupy wall street movement and where they do agree, and they're

very different on what they agree on, where they do agree is that greed is bad and somehow or other we should legislate fairness. well you can't. i pay taxes. i don't like to pay my taxes but i do, but i'm not asking government to punish someone to help me out. >> resonating. you've got to admit it. the occupy wall street folks are resonating. i mean, we just had an orc poll this week that showed the majority of americans have heard of the movement. the we are the 53 is much smaller and this other thing, this outrage at banks, outrage at the system and what its done to the haves, that have more. the have nots have less. >> it's always going to resonate the other guy has it better than you. that's part of human nature. we're all individuals who wish we had it like the other guy. part of why the 99% movement resonated. it doesn't make it right to bash

the other guy because they have a better life than you. >> the co-author of the 99% blog. single mom, grad student, unemployed and paid more tax than ge. i am the 99%. what's wrong with this position, i guess? >> well, you know, it's that she doesn't speak for me. i mean, you know, ebelieve she's the lady that reached out to me on twitter and said i don't speak for her and a few other choice words. my response back was, you don't speak for me either. people saying i'm part of the 533 and you don't speak for me. good. speak for yourself. this group in new york and complaining, so life isn't fair. i looked up, life is fair in the constitution. it's not there. >> i've got to telly, though, for 20 to 24-year-old, unemployment, 14.7%. do you think these kids just don't want to work and should just get a job and stop complaining or are you agreeing there aren't opportunities for people. this economy is not providing

enough opportunities. >> there are a lot of opportunities out there right now but it's not wall street denying their job and not bank of america denying them their job and not entrepreneurs. it's largely government policies put in place over time that have hurt job creation of the country. they should be protesting k street and congress, not wall street. >> some actually are protesting k street and congress. to be quite honest. lobbyists and the fact wall street, washington, has been in bed with each other for so long. we'll you're on the program i want to talk about the debate last night, because so interesting, a couple of the things in there. herman cain, you know, really scoring some points. tell me a little bit about this -- well let's listen first to herman cain and mitt romney going back and forth about their plans. we don't have it. sorry. okay. so -- >> i remember it. >> you remember it. you know, herman cain saying, 69

points of your 180-page plan. how did that go over? >> a a rhetorical punch very well but romney's response, simple plans sometimes don't work. herman's going to have to answer more substantive questions on the plan. is the republican party prepa d prepared? mitt romney and herman cain agreed on bailouts. the tea party candidate, the alan greenspan being a guy that could run the fed. things herman cain has to think about if he wants to part with the tea party movement. hats off to cnn. we continue to be the only network that can provide a debate without a shaky camera. >> one quick question about perry. carol brought up something earlier in the program i thought was fascinating. perry seemed not very perry last night. >> yeah. where was the guy? the second half of the debate,

the first few debates, the first half he was there. the second half he checked out. this one he waited to punch the library card until the second half of the debate. the interesting thing, a lot of talking heads saying perry lost the debate because he didn't shine. conservative activists, perry supporters saying last night wasn't as bad as the last debate. maybe he's turning it around. set the benchmark so low. really all he had to do show up and smile and the perry folks would be a little more at ease this morning. >> part of the 53% who pay taxes and don't like it, and also nice to see you this morning, sir. >> thank you. meaningful work is not always synonymous with career. cnn put together a list of the 20 best jobs for those who would like to save the world. part of their special report on the best jobs in america. often not the highest paid jobs, you get the satisfaction of knowing you're helping others, making the world a better place.

number five on the list, a medical case manager. those people who help patients coordinate treatment, help them out with paperwork. number four, social worker. high demand for workers who specialize in the elderly and those who are willing to work in rural areas. at number three, a dietitian. demand, you know, especially strong in this field because of the country's childhood obesity crisis, and the aging population. at number two, a nonprofit program coordinator. this position allows you to work for a cause you believe in. and at number one, christine, you'll like this one. public school teacher. one of the surest ways to have a positive influence on a child's life. you can check out the all-new cnnmoney.com for the rest of the entire list of the 20 best jobs for saving the world. >> worried about teachers, a lot of teachers worried, look at the state and local job cuts. 530,000 over the past couple of year, there are teachers in there. >> look at what some call the

villification of teachers and you have to think, how many young people would yearn for that job right at this moment of time? >> you are definitely saving the world. a job to save the world. >> we love teachers. >> we do. i love some of mine, for sure. you may want to check to make sure your passport is up to date. japan is considering giving away 10,000 free flights. yeah. >> wow. plus our "talk back" question of the day, does mitt romney's changing position on health care matter to you? we'll read your responses in a moment. it's 49 minutes after the hour. ingdoms and queens ♪ ♪ they all bow down to you ♪ ♪ branches and ranch hands ♪ are bowin', too ♪ and i've taken off... [ man ] we could have gone a more traditional route... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ here comes the sun again

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51 minutes after the hour. what you need to start your day, the united states says it foiled a terror plot engineered by iran. accusing tehran of conspiring with mexican drug traffickers to assassinate a saudi ambassador on american soil. six coordinated bombings across baghdad killed nearly two dozen people. two attacks targeted police station. one went off near the interior ministry. and herman cain's 999 plan, tarts of the republican debate. unrealistic and zero chance of getting through congress. president obama plans to break up his jobs plan into a series of smaller bills

introduced individually. yesterday the $474 billion package failed to pass the senate. and in an effort to boost its torism industry, japan proposed giving away 10,000 free flights. if the project gets the go-ahead, all winners would have to do, write about their trip online so others can read about it. that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning's" back right after this.

good morning, everyone. if you missed them, it's time for your late-night laugh. jay leno poking fun over debit card fees. >> hear about this woman. amazing to me pap woman gave birth to a baby girl just seven

hours after she completed the bank of america marathon. see this in the paper? ran the entire marathon. later that day gave birth to a baby girl. ship in that amazing? listen to this. since the bank of america, they charged her $5 to withdraw the child. five bucks to take out the child. >> i still don't get having a baby right after a marathon. >> the whole place was running. the hotel i'm staying at, all of these people running, talking ak it. runners are weird that way. they share -- >> it's great, but i don't get the -- it's just insane. she looked great. didn't she? >> don't you they motivated it? physical activity? no? >> i can't imagine. hard enough to run 26 miles. >> was that baby born with running shoes? i don't know. >> looked great right after having a baby.

how many women say that? that's the secret, run 26 miles. crazy. we asked you to "talk back" on one of the questions of the day. does mitt romney's changing position on health care matter to you? this from laura, a candidate able to change his or her mind as new information becomes available is admirable. an opinion becomes advantageous, that's not. i'm not sure which applies to mr. romney. this from william. he's learned a lesson. we all make mistake, despite he's the best of the worst, and this, changing opinions matters. it tells me this man will say anything to be in charge and tells me he wants power. keep the comments coming. facebook.com/"american morning." if you thought ingenuity was dead, think again. a way to clean up oil spills.

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iran accused of conspiring with mexican drug traffickers to kill a saudi ambassador right here on u.s. soil. plus, foiled by american agent, but is this the beginning of a brand new threat in our own backyard? chaos at an oklahoma pliz prison. inmates staging a full-scale

riot. mitt romney on a roll. looking confident and poised at last night's gop debate after picking up a critical comment by a rising republican star. and better ways to clean up oil spills. american ingenuity alive and well after all on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. it is wednesday, october 12th. welcome to "american morning." first up, iranian operative, mexican drug wars and a conspiracy to kill an american diplomat in a restaurant, the plot foiled. news this morning, warning americans to be on guard against terrorist attacks. this time, out of iran. >> a naturalized united states citizen who holds an iranian

passport was arrested last month in new york, accused of working with members of the arm of the revolutionary corps targeting the saudi arabian ambassador to the united states. >> reporter: their plan, spend $1.5 million to hire a mexican drug cartel to blow up a washington, d.c. restaurant by the ambassador of saudi arabia dined inside. they turned out to be undercover dea agents. >> when a confidential source noted there could be 100 to 150 people in a fictional restaurant where the requested bombing would take place, including possibly members of the united states congress, the lead defendant, acting on behalf of a component of the government of iran said, no problem, and no big deal. >> reporter: a senior counterterrorism official was denied entry from mexican authorities.

he then flew to new york where he was taken into custody and interrogated 12 days. >> not only got a confession from him, you see that in the complaint, they also got dozens of intelligence reports and leads. >> reporter: his co-conspirator remains at large this morning. he is an iran-based member of the qods force, a branch of the islamic revolutionary guard suspected in attacks against american troops overseas. >> this is a group we know about. these are folks bringing weapons systems into iraq that kill u.s. soldiers. >> reporter: they tell cnn, the saudi ambassador was not the only intended target. s suspects allegedly discussed attacking israeli and saudi embassies in washington and possibly in buenas aires argentina. iran is calling it a distraction and fabrication and also attempting to distract from the slowing economy.

all should be on the table in dealing with iran, some say. >> the iranians have crossed the red line. if this had been carried out, talk about an act of murder carried out by a foreign government on our soil of a foreign diplomat. basically this would have been an act of war. >> senior u.s. diplomats are expected to place calls to foreign leaders today to get tougher on iran. of course, iran is already the subject of newspaperer ouz sancti numerous sanctions. >> yes, it is. the threat level now facing americans overseas and here at home has risen. fran townsen, former homeland security advisers to president bush. just the alleged facts of this plot, that forces with the iranian government were plotting with mexican drug cartels to hire an assassin to take out a saudi ambassador on u.s. soil. it sounds like an episode of "24." >> it does. when you understand the details of it, look, this was an

investigation began by a dea informant. the fbi was tracking the defendants' movements. saw them go into mexico. worked with mexican officials. had federal agents on the plane as it flew from mexico into new york. the more it sounds like a movie plot, but it's quite serious. we've seen such attacks unfortunately even in the united states in the '80s, chile, targeted in washington and assassinated a diplomat. these things have happened before, but it's a very dangerous development. >> they have happened before, but not for quite a long time. what would be the advantage for the iranians, if this is true that such an attack would take place on american soil? >> that is, carol, very sort of con pou c confounding. you saw the protests, shia mine or the in bahrain against a

saudi family. saudis also a royal family came to the defense of bobreign. and so you could imagine such a plot. sort of evening the score not only with the saudis against the shia, but also with the united states, who frankly did not sort of chastise the saudis for intervening and you could understand, the saudi ambassador in the united states would sort of, from an iranian point of view, might settle that score. >> the most disturbing part of this for americans, i would guess, is that's this alleged assassin was supposed to take out the saudi ambassador and maybe would be in a restaurant and that 0 would be okay, he'd just shoot of you the restaurant and kill any americans who night get in the bap that's disturbing. can we consider this an escalation in the tension between iran and the united states and how serious -- i mean, we already don't get along

with iran. everybody knows that, but how serious is this incident to the relationship between iran and the united states? >> oh, i think it's very serious. for one thing, look, there's been something of a stalemate in the u.n. security council. the u.s. has sought -- we've had sanctions on iran. they've been effective, but the u.s. has fought stronger sanctions and been foiled at the security council by russia and china. for the u.s. to have the facts it has that we already understand in this case, to be able to take that and leverage it. we've seen the uk prime minister cameron saying he's going to work with the united states to seek greater sanctions. to give the u.s. this sort of leverage now is tremendous power. we'll see if they're able to turn that into tougher sanctions. >> military action is not an option. take that off the table quickly. when you say increased sanctions, what would they be? what more can the united states and other knts do to iran? which is pretty isolated already? >> you'll see additional financial sanctions and denying

them even greater access to the world financial system. iran has much of their revenue, it comes from oil production. they dollarize those transactions. turn it into dollars to support currency. so you could take additional financial sanctions, and further isolate them. i think that's what they'll see the u.s. tleemattempt to do. >> final question. mahmoud ahmadinejad may not be directly connected to this plot, but what is your sense about that? >> you know, it's interesting. the fbi sources have indicated that they don't have a direct link either to the supreme leader or president ahmadinejad yet. i haven't talked to anybody who thinks they could have undertaken such a strategically risky operation without having top political cover. haven't found it yet, but everyone expects it and the qods force couldn't have gone off on their own, given if they were

caught and they went to hide actions by masking it with a mexican cartel. you're going to eventually find this has sanctions at the highest level. >> and the fact a government was allegedly use liesing drug cartel -- another conversation. fran townsend, thank you for joining us. president obama will now create several smaller job bills after the senate defeated his $474 billion proposal. every republican senator voted against the bill along with a few democrats. the final vote was 50-49. shy of the 60 votes that are needed to pass. in new york, the occupy wall street movement is taking its protest uptown. hundreding marching to the manhattan doorsteps of millionaires rupert murdoch and oil tie cohn david koch and bank chairman milstein and john paulsen and shouting hey you,

millionaires, pay your fair share. >> president obama gets re-elected he'll look for a new chief of staff. bill daley plans to return to chicago. still to come this morning, herman cain in the hot seat. his radical tax plan ridiculed by rivals during last night's republican presidential debate in new hampshire. we'll take it apart again this morning. and a full-scale riot at a prison in oklahoma. guards forced to use tear gas to bring rioting inmates to their knees. [ woman on radio, indistinct ] ♪ bum-bum

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welcome back. the morning after the latest republican presidential debate. mitt romney looks more like a front-runner than ever and herman cain getting his first taste of friendly fire attacking his 999 overall plan calling for a 9% income tax, corporate tax and national sales tax. >> the thing i would say is,

when you take the 999 plan and turn it upside-down, i think the devil's in the details. >> how many people here are for a sales tax in new hampshire? raise your hand. there you go. that's how many votes you'll get in new hampshire. >> i thought it was the price of a pizza when i first heard it. >> there you go. joining us now, analysis of the debate. cnn contributors hilary rosen, john, and will. do you agree romney came out solidifying the status of herman cain? friendly fire. >> romney is in in respects so far ahead of them in the rhetoric and in the substance, that they needed another foil, because rick perry is not turning into a very effective foil for romney. >> romney trying to set up his foils and tried to give bachmann a softball question. trying to prop up herman cain. he is so far ahead. he needs a rival he can beat. >> is herman cain running for

president or a fox news show? more than one pundit asked this question. >> an extended audition. colorly, he could knock it out of the park. he is a grit communicator. this support deepened and last night he proved he could take the heat at that top tier. the debate was all about 999. folks who watched the debate know at least one candidate's economic plan. a big deal even if it's controversial. >> because the republican party is really two parties. social conservatives and then there's sort of a moderate -- and conservatives still don't like romney and keep searching for this perfect alternative to romney and that's why cain is drawing that heat. >> i don't think herman cain would solidify that support. i think the cracks are starting to show. the main problem, 999, it's bad. 999 is not a strong conservative policy. >> why isn't it a strong conservative policy? liberals say it hurts the poor. >> you cannot give the government a new taxes authority

on the hope, on the whim you'll keep it at 9%. rick santorum pointed it out perfectly. 9% consumption, income, with several years, 20%. >> the tax rates no one pays in this country. that seems to be the whole point. i want to talk a little about romney's health care problem, or maybe it's not so much a problem anymore. let's listen to this. >> governor romney, your chief economic adviser glenn hubbard, who you know well, he said that romneycare was obamacare. >> we have less than 1% of our kids uninsured. you have a million kids uninsured in texas. >> you know, romney is clearly, last night, started the trend to play to the middle. he defended his vote on t.a.r.p. he is starting to be more aggressive in supporting his own health care -- the problem is that it's not going to stand up in the general election. it may end up getting people to

think he's more practical in the primary, but in the general election, all of these to and fros and back and forths he's done is not going to -- he's not going to get away with it. >> of course they'll try the flip-flop and massachusetts is precedent for it. interesting, this is a major achilles heel in the republican party and yet he's owning it. right? the question of the republican party moving forward, can you have a nominee who backed the predecessor to obamacare when that was the issue that galvanized the provement? a lot of party flopping. so far able to withstand those attacks. >> and it was such a hot thing for him, even a month ago, two months ago, and i feel as though it's kind of becoming less of a problem. shocking. it is major weakness of the campaign and shocking how little it comes up in the debates. he has thwarted it. federalism, a conservative

concept. but that doesn't take it away. it's still a problem but no one can seemingly attach it to him. >> it drives home one other part. all republicans care about is defeating president obama. the health care bill put 40 billion people on the rolls and a lot of things are good for the country. what i think was missing last night was one fundamental point that nobody really talked about. the current suffering in a way that's meaningful. and i do not think that mitt romney or any of these republicans can afford to get away with spending the next year talking down the economy just to get rid of barack obama. >> tweeted that, too. making that point. interesting, because republicans want to occupy 1600 pennsylvania avenue. that's the -- >> the only thick they'ng they' worried ob now. >> chris christie endorsed mitt romney. coveted endorsement. will it matter? is it important? >> among the establishment. i don't think it matters much

among the electorate. chris christie is authentic and tells you things that might hurt his own electability. the endorsement helps in that respect. >> i agree. a big deal endorsement, solidify the romney at the front-runner. i'm authentic. this guy can't be that bad. the field is set. rudy giuliani said he's not in the race. palin, you know, rudy, all the folk whose have been sort of keeping the doors open, that door's closed. the people at the table last night is the republican field. >> and it will start to narrow. >> the reality, you have a front-runner, not a lot of enthusiasm at the base of the republican party. evangelicals in particular. that accounts for a lot of herman cain's surge. >> is romney going to -- a vice presidential nominee not on the field? somebody completely out of this group? >> i think you'll see a lot of pressure talking about a romney/cain ticket.

this is all premature. >> yeah, just let's all keep it in perspective. in fairness, shocking to me, rick perry who knew he needed a strong debated and has that support from tea part partiers slept through the debate. >> interesting. hillary, john, will, thank. have a great morning. >> thank. that's it for us right now. talking more an the western presidential debate in las saying is, anderson cooper moderating. that's next tuesday 8:00 and our own carol costello will be there and will have all the analysis. >> i'm not carol. but it's on me. i'll handful now. it took hours. the decision in western oklahoma is footbally under control. a full-scale riot breck out at the prison yesterday that started with fighting in several areas of the correctional

facility in oklahoma. guards had to use tear gas to get things under control. the situation there, at least 20 inmates injured. hurricane jova hitting mexico now. rob marciano is in the extreme weather center for us. what's the situation with this hurricane, rob? >> inland, weakening. onshore category 2 storm, winds 100 miles per hour. reports from mexico, not a disaster by any means. damage to homes and businesses in puerto vallarta and continue to weaken, moving at 9 miles an hour. weaken fairly quickly. speaking of rain, we have some across the ohio river, through pittsburgh, over the allegheny and's in through the northeast. some will begin to increase throughout the day today and through tonight. a pretty slow mover. when it comes through new york and the tri-state area, we could see significant rainfall. especially tonight into tomorrow. a couple three inches potentially. behind it, another system with a potential for seeing severe

thunderstorms across the midwest and those two systems could cause delays. especially the northeast and philly. d.c., new york city, st. louis, additional thunderstorms. 76 degrees in chicago. 80 in memphis. halloween right around the corner. maybe carol could dress up as ali forr halloween. >> carroll, i'm not sure me getting into carol's clothes is going to be all that successful. why did you bring, like a tube top? >> wear leggings. >> that's as far as i can go with that. >>s with conversation is heading into -- >> a bald wig and -- >> a bald wig and somehow that seems counterintuitive. anyway, now is your chance to "talk back" on weren't of the big stories of the day. the question this morning, does mitt romney's changing position on health care matter to you? the biggest thorn in mitt romney's side is romneycare. that's what his opponents called

the health care plan that governor romney created in massachusetts. turns out the obama administration was entranced with romney's plan and obama officials met with romney people to create obamacare and both plans include a requirement to buy insurance. as for what romney says. yeah. so? >> the truth is, our plan is different, and the people of massachusetts, if they don't like it, then get rid of it. right now they favor it 3-1, but i'm not running for governor of massachusetts. i'm running for president and as president i will get a waiver and return what i said when we were governor, the right to pay for our poor and the way we thought best for our respective saints. >> makes you wonder. on the day he signed that massachusetts health care law. >> when i set out to find a way to get everybody health insurance i couldn't have cared less and i don't care less how it works plel s politically.

in my mind it's the right thing to do. helps those without health insurance. we need to find them insurance to get better care and they cost us less money. >> so mitt romney was for the individual mandate before he was against it. at least on a national level. and as president will repeal the very health care law that he inspired. the "talk back" question, does romney's position change on health care matter to you? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. and a challenge to help clean up an oil spill done in the wake of that massive oil spill last year. when we come back, we'll meet the inventor who found a better way to get the oil out of the water.

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welcome back. u.s. stock futures sharply ahead. european markets up, too, after stronger than expected manufacturing data. surprised investors in europe. however, just a few minutes ago the united auto workers union announced it reached a tentative agreement in contract negotiations with chrysler. chrysler agreed it create 2,1 tn new jobs by 2015, part of ate grimt. pepsi reported it missed third quarter earnings expectations but that revenues were up for the quarter. a lot of weight on this report. pepsi doesn't just make pepsi also frito-lay, tropicana and quaker oats. and oil demand down further due to slowing growth in the global economy. the fourth month in a row opec cut its oil demand. and the interest rates back in september, investors sorting through the pages for any hints about future plans the fed may have to boost the economy. and finally, it's happened. the number of wireless

subscribers outnumbers the u.s. population. according to a study by a group that tracks wireless data and the study shows there was 111% increase in wireless data traffic in the first six months of this year. "american morning" will be right back after the break. to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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of conspiring with the mexican drug trafficker to assassinate a saudi ambassador on u.s. soil. warned to stay alert for possible attack. iranian president mack moohmoud ahmadinejad calling it a fabrication. >> another roadside bomb went off near the interior minister. at least 70 people treated for injuries. no one claimed responsibility for the violence. president obama plans to break up his jobs plan to a series of individual bills introduced individually. last night his $474 billion package failed to pass the senate. herman cain is number two in the republican presidential race. cain was taking fire with gop rivals ridiculing his 999 tax proposal. >> i think it's a catchy phrase.

in fact, i thought it was the price of a pizza when i first heard it. >> 999 will pass, and it is not the price of a pizza, because it has been well studied and well developed. >> one tlhing i would say, when you take the 999 plan and turn it upside down, i think the devil's in the details. >> thank you. >> cain's 999 plan is a bold solution. not a political solution. it is day 11 of the manslaughter trial of michael jackson's doctor conrad murray. the prosecution's case is winding down. the state could rest by the end of the week. meantime, another emotional day in court yesterday, and our ted rowlands is there. >> reporter: for the first time, jurors heard the story of what happened in the hours before michael jackson died. directly from the doctor blamed for his death in a two-hour interview reported by police.

dr. conrad murray recounted a sleepless night for jackson, who was desperately looking for rest in order to prepare for his upcoming tour. >> he was wide awake, and then he complained. i've got to sleep, dr. conrad. i must be ready for the show. i don't want to have to cancel my performance, cancel my trip, because, you know i cannot function if i don't get the sleep. >> reporter: murray says he gave jackson a series of sedatives but nothing worked. finally at 10:40 a.m. he says he gave in to jackson's pleas, and administered 25 milligrams of propofol, which jackson referred to as his milk. >> i then decided to go in and

give him propofol because i cared about him. i did not want him to fail. >> reporter: but murray's timeline of what happened next is under dispute by the prosecution. >> i monitored him for a period that was comparable then i needed to go to the bathroom. so i got up, went to the bathroom. then i came back to his bedside, and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing. i would say about two minutes. his body was warm. there was no change in color. so everything happened very quickly. just about the time i was -- >> reporter: murray says he was away from jackson for only two minutes. phone records show murray spent 45 minutes on his cell phone before he discovered that

jackson had stopped breathing. still, the audio tape may work in murray's favor. the jury heard murray say repeatedly that he loved jackson and wanted to help him. >> i loved mr. jackson. he was my friend. i loved him. michael jackson -- [ inaudible ] i was trying to wean him off. >> reporter: he talked about consoling jackson's daughter paris at the hospital. >> i said, i tried my best. he said, i know that, dr. murray. i know. i know you tried your best. i know you tried your best but i'm really sad. now i'm gaoing to wake up in th morning and i won't see my daddy, and i'm very sad. >> reporter: this may be the only chance the jury la to hear murray's story. he's not expected to take the stand in his own defense. complete coverage and analysis of the michael jackson death trial, check out our sister network hln. you may remember him as

random task. weren't of dr. evil's hinchmen in the first "austin powers'" film. suspected of killing his cellmate in a california prison. he was sentenced to life for torturing and raping a woman back in 1990. >> ow. still no sign of a 10-month-old girl who disappeared mere more than a week ago in kansas city. a private investigators hired to help in the search. lisa was taken sleeping in her crib. focused on an abandon house near their home, but no evidence turned up. eric holder will comply with subpoenas with "operation fast and furious." that operation was supposed to trace how u.s. guns got into the hands of mexican drug cartels but failed after the guns started turning up at scenes in

murder scenes in both countries. the former new york city mayor, rudy giuliani said, it's too late for me. he said rick perry has the hearts of republican voters while mitt romney has their heads. calling it an easy decision to make, new jersey governor chris christie endorsed mitt romney to be the republican nominee for president. most analysts agreeing that romney is beginning to solidify his role as the gop front-runner for president. for the very first time romney is responding to comments by a dallas pastor who labeled his mormon faith a cult. after receiving christie's endorsement he chose not to attack the reverend directly but instead put the ball in rick perry's court challenging the texas governor to condemn those comments. >> governor perry selected an individual to introduce him who then used religion as a basis for which he said he would endorse governor perry and a

reason to not support me. governor perry said that introduction just hit it out of the park. i don't believe that divisiveness based on religion has a part in this country and i would call on mr. perry to repudiate that. >> senator perry is refusing to disavow that pastor. and who can create a device to clean up the oil spill? you'll middle east t you'll meet the man and machine after the break. i'm not a number.

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welcome back to "american morning." in the summer of 2010, on the heels of the disastrous bp oil spill in the gulf of mexico, an idea was hatched. wendy schmidt, wife of google ceo eric schmidt and peter with me today on the ex-prize foundation decided to challenge scientists and engineers around the world to come up with a better way to clean criude oil off an ocean surface. we have a winner. we are joined by peter

diamantous who won the challenge. donny wilson. congratulations. thank you for being here. >> good to be here. >> peter, back to how this started. you were looking at the same things we were looking at. i went down there right up to that fire last year and it's nothing i'd ever seen before. after all of these years of reporting, i had just never seen something like that. this oil that continues to come out, this fire that keeps burning. we knew eventually it would be capped but everybody in the world was worried about this, and so what did you do? >> we were looking for place where is there are market failures that we can have literally a competition, re-invent how we do things. james cameron, board of trustees, francis, looking at what do we do in this area, and jim and francis said, can we re-invent how we actually clean up oil? because the technology hasn't changed in 20 years since exxon

valdez and we put out this challenge to say do it at least twice as good as the industry standard and the results have been spectacular. >> the idea of the prize, compete for a certain amount of money. $1 million for first prize. the number of teams that compete to do that generates a lot more research than $1 million? >> you invest $1 million. you might invest in the right team. put out a challenge saying, listen, if you hit this goal, which is really hard, really audacious, then you win. and we literally attracted 350 pre-retgistered teams that have driven ten amazing finalists and one winner. >> what was the goal? >> the goal, the industry had to clean up 1 shgs 100 gallons per minute. at least to win you have to do at least 2,500. at least 2.5 times better than the existing industry standards. >> okay. >> what happened is nothing short of spectacular. >> donny, you guys were involved in the oil spill last year. >> yeah.

running the burn program for bp. a fire resistant containment and can burn large volumes of oil offshore. >> the boom contains a bunch of oil, pools it, you light it on fire. you burn it off. the most effective way we had. >> correct. >> so you needed to beat 2,500 gallons per minute. what did you come up with in the end? >> ended up with a group technology. something we had on the drawing board and of course with this contest, you had to bring your best game to the table, and we achieved that, and much more. we are at over 4,000 gallons a minute. >> over 4,000 when the industry standard had been 1,100. >> the rate to clean up oil on the gulf, amazing. >> what does this do for your team and the world of oil spilling? >> what it does, it brings attention to the problem. so that's going to give us an opportunity to market the product in more places in the world. >> as you said yesterday, i heard you saying, three years

ago you couldn't have sold this product? >> the problem is that legitimacy. if we'd have went and done this ourself, not sure everyone would believe what we had. >> right. >> being involved here in the certification, we were able to prove we have this technology and take it to the marketplace. >> and this -- the testing, peter, explain. done in new jersey. you did six tests for each entrant. three of them in calm water. three in waves. and then you took the average of all of the different to determine the score? >> in addition to the $1 million, what the teams actually get is a global stage to demonstrate they're abilities. an amazing set of judging that came from u.s. government agencies, the industry, that looked at this technology and in the world's largest test facility, comset, they had a chance to show their stuff and really we have in addition to wendy schmidt, amazing benefactors, shell came in and said we're going to help take this winning technology to the

marketplace. hopefully next time there's a spill, there won't be a next spill, we can clean it up faster before the oil hits the shore and causes environmental damage. >> you've been involved in big things in the past. the rocket ship, something going to the moon, the x prize gave birth to the space industry, but this is a smaller, quicker turn around one? >> ali, typically doing $10 million to $30 million five to eight-year competitions. we're realizing $1 million competitions that really take a year to actually compete and be won really can drive innovation, and the access small teams have to incredible technology, growing technologies, new materials, i.a., robe bonotics. we're looking at these competitions in the areas of housing, water, energy, or other areas that really help improve our world as a very fast rate.

>> incredible. donny, you competed against global teams from all over the world. >> correct. >> how do you feel american eng newtsy dead? >> it's not dead. it's part ever the americanized community. we're thrilled. great competitors that brought their best game. we were fortunate fluff to bring our best game and really push the envelope. >> donny, blew it away. surprised yourself. didn't you? >> we did. >> didn't think you were getting anywhere. >> we knew we were in the range, but you never know until you actually do it, and -- >> well, it's going to make the world a better place. thanks, donny to coming in, doing that kind of work and peter thanks for inventing these contests that people can compete, you know in. >> carol? >> can't wait to the see. morning headlines coming your way next and ahead in our a.m. house call, weren't of the weirdest consequences of sex.

amnesia. not kidding. we'll explaining. >> carol, can't wait to hear you tell me about that. today's "romans' numeral" is 61. here's a rihint. said 61 times during the presidential debate. think about that. what word do you think it was? 48 minutes after the hour.

49 past the hour. here are your headlines. investors remaining optimistic europe will contain its debt crisis. president obama plans to break up his jobs plan into a series of smaller bills introduced individually.

yesterday his $474 billion package failed to pass the senate. armed with his endorsement from chris christie, mitt romney looked like the front-runner at the republican party readal debate. herman cain came the united states says it spoiled a terror plot engineered by iran. that man is in custody. a 56-year-old u.s. citizen who also holds an iranian passport. conspiring with mexican drug traffickers to assassinate a saudi ambassador on american soil. iran's president calling the charnels a fabrication. a connecticut jury expected to begin deliberations in a deadly home invasion trial. this man is accused of masterminding that crime that led to the deaths of jennifer hawke-pettit and her two daughters. the san francisco giants' fan beaten to death last march

has been released from the hospital. bryan stow has shown tremendous improvement. that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" back after a break.

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you're just bugging me like a brother. new york city, cloudy, 60 degrees. 62 and showers later. you bugged your sister, didn't you? >> i know your sister and you did bug your sister. this morning's romans' numeral. the number in the news today, the number is 61. the number of times a word appeared last night. what do you think it was? >> economy. >> jobs. critics would say no new movement in all the utterances of the word jobs to actually get new jobs going and there's no new movement overall to have any new spending in the economy for jobs to be created this year because the president's jobs plan was defeated yesterday in the senate. but, oh, we're talking about jobs. who is to create them and who is to blame for not having them. men may want to think twice before they pop a vitamin e.

a new study found high doses of the supplement might increase a man's risk for prostate cancer. researchers at the cleveland clinic say they were taking a second look at a 2008 study between the link between vitamin e and prostate cancer and what they found of the 35,000 men taking part of that study, those taking the vitamin saw 17% increase in prostate cancer. okay, now, keep this in mind next time you're heading for the bedroom. sex can make you forgetful. a person's memory suddenly disappears after sex. >> this happens more in men than women? >> we're not sure why it happens either. but people with what is called transient global amnesia suffer no side effects. their memory usually returns in a few hours. >> i don't even know what that means. >> what what means? >> the whole story is -- >> which story, i forgot. okay. let's get back to our talk back question. the question you asked this

morning. does romney's changing position on health care matter to you? this from jerry, not at all. what he did was for the people of massachusetts. it had no effect on the other 49 states. if the other governors had done something for their states, we would have never had obamacare. this from laura, yes, rommy nfs change in position upsets me very much. i was proud when he enacted it and stood by it. now that he's not owning his own belief, he will cow tow to the ba base. it absolutely matters. romney is a moderate man politically, and i respect that. what i don't respect is that he has no backbone. how can a man claim to be a leader if his only core american value is a desire to win. this from todd, romney is a businessman changing is what business people do. they adjust, they tweak, they shuffle until whatever it is they are doing is successful. someone who keeps doing the same

things over and over are not were working and then wonder why they are going no where? keep the comments coming. >> for people who say the president's health care plan was invented by mitt romney, democrats have been pushing for health way before mitt romney was the governor of massachusetts. >> i think what they're talking about is some of the advisors on romney's health care plan in massachusetts consulted with the obama administration and they came up with what opponents call obamacare. romney's plan inspired oba obamacare. >> or at least guided it. >> right. >> i will leave you guys. >> why? >> "fortune" magazine is having a discussion with the ceo of citigroup. i'm going to go down to the time life building and just listen in. we're all very concerned about banks and their state. >> and fees. interesting to see what he thinks about the backlash against fees. >> we'll talk about that and i'll let you know what we learn.

>> bye. top stories when we return, including, are the candidates right? we're fact checking last night's debate. president obama got to the oval office, but is the gop ready to nominate a black presidential candidate? it's all ahead. 57 minutes after the hour. but i've never been one. good point. ( captain ) this is your captain speaking. annie gets to be the princess. oh... but she has to kiss a boy. and he's dressed up like a big green frog ! ewww. ( announcer ) fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself nonstop. american airlines.

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the united states calling on the world to get tough with iran after pulling a plot to kill a saudi ambassador on american soil. i'm carol costello. should the u.s. military respond? i'm christine romans. he is surging in the polls and now herman cain on this "american morning." and good morning to you. it is wednesday, october 12th. ali velshi, he, he had to leave this hour for a very important meeting, though. >> he's going to go listen to the ceo of citibank over at "fortune" magazine and get a sense of the state of the american banking system. first, a terror plot that some u.s. leaders are calling an act of war.

saudi arabia's ambassador to the united states. iran conspired with mexican drug traffickers to assassinate him here on american soil with a bomb in a restaurant. this is a suspect who has been taken into custody. he's a 56-year-old iranian. he's a naturalized u.s. citizen. his friends called him jack and they said he didn't seem to have particularly strong views on religion or politics. he's in custody today. peter king of new york chairman of the house homeland security committee calling this foiled terror plot an act of war and insists america should not rule out a military response. >> i think we should certainly consider some, at least signs of military activity by us as movements of troops. something to indicate how seriously we're taking this. everything should be kept on the table when you're talking about a potential attack against the united states, an act of war. >> let's bring in our pentagon

reporter barbara starr. so, barbara, a military option doesn't seem possible at this time. the obama administration was quick to throw that off the table. what are the united states options when it comes to possibly punishing iran? >> well, you know, yesterday we saw the treasury department very quickly levee new sanctions against five people that it said were involved in this plot, including four senior members of iran's revolutionary guard core. this force that we have been talking about for the last day or so that is said to be behind this plot. whether it goes beyond these people, whether it goes all the way up to the iranian president and the supreme leader is one of the key questions right now for the administration as they try to form a response. how far up does this go? is it possible that these operatives were acting on their own? nobody seems to have a good feel for that, although the fbi yesterday, the justice

department were very clear that they believe they're behind it. you have discussion of taking all of this to the security council at the united nations for some kind of international reprimand, perhaps. but as you say, military action at the moment does not seem to be front and center. this is a very tough neighborhood out in the persian gulf. a lot of nervous arab neighbors, not interested in seeing another war break out there and a lot of concern about just keeping a calm atmosphere there. of course, because of the very sensitive oil shipping lanes during that very region. christine, carol. >> what we also don't know where this plot emanated from. what part of the iranian government, if any part, because they're competing factions, of course. how high up it may have gone. we don't know very much about this guy in custody and the other one they're looking for, how closely tied they were and

all the way back to ahmadinejad's office. >> that's right. people keep using the phrase brazen attack. how brazen is this? is this something that mahmoud ahmadinejad, the president of iran, ordered up himself? is he really engaging in a new round of potential very serious violence things that are interpreted by the international community as an act of war. will he press the west into some sort of action against him? what is he really up to? how could he not have known about this? let me just briefly mention, of course, we've been down this road before. iran shipped weapons into iraq and into afghanistan. weapons that clearly killed u.s. and coalition forces. what the pentagon, what the administration continued to say about those iranian weapons is they came from the force, but they never said that they could link them higher up. sounds familiar, doesn't it?

this key question. can you link it all the way to the iranian leadership? >> we'll see. barbara starr live at the pentagon, thank you. all right, now to politics this morning. herman cain likes his new position as the number two position, even if it comes with the big bullseye. the tax came under attack last night. >> when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, i think the devil's in the details. >> how many people here are for a sales tax in new hampshire? there you go, herman. >> i first thought it was the price of a pizza when i first heard of it. >> tom foreman is fact checking the republican debate. herman cain's 999 jobs plan was at the heart of this debate and critics and many economists say it would hurt the poor more than anybody else. it's simple, but probably wouldn't work. what are you finding?

>> you hit the nail on the head here. i don't know if you could say it probably wouldn't work, what you can say, it appears simple, but in reality, it may be remarkably complex. that's why we're throwing it on the much dreaded wheel of truth here. find out what really happened here. let's listen to what herman cain said about this plan. >> it will replace the corporate income tax, the personal income tax and the capital gains tax and most importantly the payroll tax. >> big claim here. it's going to replace, basically, all the revenue that the government needs. that's what he's saying. the question is, is that true? here's the simple fact of it. economic analysts are skeptical about that. i underline the word skeptical because the problem with this plan is that it is so comprehensive in terms of what it would do to the tax code and revenue in this country that right now, as best we can tell, nobody can really get a thumb on what exactly it would mean.

almost like saying if we changed all the rules in baseball, would we have more or fewer home runs? that's what's happening here. such a dramatic change. we don't really know. the bottom line is what we have to do is say this is true, but incomplete and the real emphasis here is on incomplete. it's just not clear, at this point, from all the analysis. whether this would replace all the revenue or come up short or somehow produce more. carol? >> tom, i always heard if wouldn't raise enough money. we have a certain amount of money that the united states takes in to pay its bills now. if you changed over to the 999 plan, that would bring in marketedly less money. >> some people think that. but part of the problem is that the 999 plan could also, because it has, for example, 9% sales tax across the country, it could also dramatically change spending habits. if that happens, how much? and who changes and how much is spent? >> this is why tax reform makes people crazy because when you pull over here and then

something changes over here and we have one of the most co complicated, one of the most complicated tax systems in the world. >> what about mitt romney's plan? >> mitt romney has really been out there hitting the ball and one thing he talked about was the idea of what americans want when we talk about controlling our budget, controlling our spending and how much revenue we need. listen. >> american people want to see growth and jobs and they believe the right way to do is by cutting back on the scale of government. they're right. >> oh, there's something that republicans love to hear. americans want less government spending. you know what, he's right about that. when you ask about the super committee right now about to sort all of this. 57% of the people in one of the recent polls here said we need major cuts to domestic spending. he's absolutely right. here's what he didn't say, however. at the same time, 63% said we also need higher taxes on wealthier americans and businesses. you can't say one without mentioning the other, not if you're going to be really fair.

that is absolutely true, but incomplete, carol. >> but the other thing mitt romney said is that he wants to increase money for defense. many economists say we have to decrease the money we give to defense. that's the only way we can balance our budget and make government smaller. >> it's just what you talked about a minute ago. the problem with this, rubics cube. do i really want this if it's going to cost me that? >> the baseball analogy, you're so great. tom, what about rick perry touting this unmatched jobs record? >> oh, you know, rick perry has done this before and he hit the ball again on texas. listen. >> while this country was losing 2.5 million jobs, texas was creating 1 million jobs. >> texas was creating 1 million jobs. rick perry loves to say the governors in general love to say this. the rest of the country was in trouble. look how well i was doing. texas created jobs.

here's the problem in all that. texas current unemployment rate is still 8.5%. that's below the national average. if you lisened to the numbers he cited there. under the obama administration the country lost 2.5 million jobs, but he said texas created a million jobs. texas only created 166,000 jobs during that same period of time under the obama administration. you have to go all the way back for the past decade under his entire governorship to get a million jobs and, even then, why is the unemployment rate so high if they're creating so many jobs? because their population is also growing. if you are creating jobs at a rate that doesn't keep up with your population growth. on top of it texas has one of the highest percentages in the entire country of jobs that are very low paying at or below the minimum wage. so, this is, at very least, misleading because the

implication is the obama administration for the whole country lost 2.5 million in the same period of time i created almost half that million in my state alone and they're good jobs. that's simply not really the case, carol. >> fascinating stuff. tom foreman, thank you so much. >> cnn is going to host the next western republican presidential debate in las vegas. we'll have the debate live next tuesday october 18th at 8:00 p.m. eastern time right here on cnn. anderson cooper will moderate that. carol will be there live for all the morning after analysis. >> i'll go behind the scenes. herman cain is calling out his critics in the black community. liberal african-americans just can't stand his conservative credentials. >> how dare herman cain, first, run as a republican? how dare herman cain be conservative? and how dare he move up in the polls. he just might challenge our

beloved obama. that's the problem that they have. >> okay, so, those comments follow cain's assertion that racism doesn't hold anyone back any more and, of course, that comment has created even more controversy. our next guests have written about this issue. ron christy is a republican strategist and resident fellow at the institute of politics at harvard university. also the author of two books on race and politics and boyce watkins founder of yourblackworld.com. welcome to you both. >> thank you for having me. >> boyce, let's start with you. you called cain the perfect racist. but just because herman cain has a different opinion on the state of african-americans in america, i mean, that doesn't make herman cain a racist, does it? >> no, well, a lot of us live under the premise that racism

doesn't come with a black face, but, actually, the most effective form of racism does have a black face. you can go all the way back to slavery. herman cain learned a long time ago that you can gain a lot of political points by attacking and disrespecting black people. and it will lead you to gain favor among whites. if you notice, he's the only presidential candidate who speaks this much about race. you don't see mitt romney running around the country disrespecting mormons and saying that they're brain washed. you don't see rick perry attacking texans. herman cain actually moves up in the polls because he's attacking african-americans because the color of his skin grants a degree of legitimacy, which i would consider to be ill legitimacy to some opinions that are quite flawed. it's problematic when he comes forth with such strong views that are ultimately incorrect. >> ron, do you agree? is herman cain just saying these things for political gain?

>> no, of course i don't agree with that. i think there's a real struggle with a lot of folks in the black community today that say somehow if you act a certain way, if you talk a certain way, that somehow you're acting white or you're insufficiently black. you hear our previous guest comment herman cain set out the civil rights marchesmarches. daring to have a different ideology and opinion is fine in america and, frankly, that's what is the best of being in the era of obama. you can put forth your ideas and articulate a vision for this country regardless of the color of your skin and people will follow you and people will rally to that rather than saying you are a member of a particular ethnicity. >> doesn't he have a point? some people think that all african-americans think the same way. in the same way that they think all women think the same way. african-americans have different opinions about a lot of things, including race. >> that's absolutely true. i have members of my own family

who really want to like herman cain because one of the things that a lot of people don't talk about is that there is a lot of conservatism in the black community and i think the views of herman cain as a conservative and as a republican are acceptable amongst a lot of people. the problem is that he's coming forth in a way that is making himself into this political novelty that says, hey, i'm a black guy. look at these horrible things i'm saying about black people. that's why you should like me. i, instead, encourage mr. cain to have a candidacy that carries -- another candidate, colin powell. you'll never see him running around the country. herman cain is going about it the wrong way. >> ron, you mentioned this before about what herman cain said about president barack obama.

he said that in a radio interview before last night's debate. so, let's listen. >> he's never been a part of the black experience in america. i can talk about that. i can talk about what it really menlt to be po before i was poor. >> okay, so he went there. i mean, why disparage president obama, ron? >> well, see y wouldn, i wouldn that. i don't know the quote black experience in america. i was raised in california and here at cambridge, massachusetts, at the politics at harvard. if you're black you're supposed to punch certain tickets. i disagree with mr. cain for saying what he said about the president. i have a very fundamental disapproval with the fact that people somehow say, there's nothing wrong that 90% of blacks in this country vote for one political party. i wouldn't call it brainwashing, but i would look at it and say very strongly, why would 90% of

one ethnic group for one party. if you had 90% of whites all voting for republicans. people would say, oh, republicans are racist. i think we need to move away from this black experience and white experience and talk about the things that unite us. >> okay, boyce, you get the last word. we don't have much time. what are we learning from this sort of debate that is going on in the country right now? >> well, i think that we're learning exactly what the other guest is referring to, which is that, you know, our motto, your black world. if no one way to be black. the idea is we have african-americans from all different backgrounds. to say that all black people think alike is the same to say that all white people think alike. herman cain has a right to be a conservative and his view points are welcome to a point, but don't feel that attacking obama as a black man or attacking the bulk of the african-american community is going to get you into the white house.

it doesn't make you commander in chief material. it actually makes you a little bit of a gimmick. i don't think herman cain wants to be that. >> thank you, both, for being with us this morning. ron christy and boyce watkins. we appreciate it. >> pleasure to join you. >> fascinating discussion. still ahead, our schools are going to the dogs, literally. but this is a good thing. dogs now helping out in the classroom teaching empathy and compassion, it's part of the effort to stop bullying. does it work? one program started by yale university with the mreblessing the dog whisperrer himself. and another satellite set to crash back to earth. where and when? rob marciano's tracking the new developments. it's 18 minutes past the hour. ♪

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northern trust's goals-based investment strategies are tailored to your needs. ♪ and overseen by experts who seek to maximize opportunities while minimizing risk. ♪ expertise matters. find it at northern trust. what a perfect picture because you know what, christine -- >> let me guess. >> detroit won. >> right. detroit's bats came alive last night and they're still in the game and we like that. it's beautiful in detroit this morning. partly cloudy and 60 degrees. some showers later, but hopefully the rain won't int interfere with the game. >> you know what, rob, carol got her birthday wish. that was for her team to win. >> all my mom wanted was the

yankees to win on her birthday. i tell you what y called my vegas bookie and i said, what are the chances of the tigers going on to win the world series and he said about the same as getting hit by a satellite falling to earth. >> he's crazy. >> be careful, carol. be very careful. >> which is 2,000-1. we have another satellite. >> we have the best picture in all of baseball, actually. two of the best hitters in the american league. >> if that pitcher could pitch every day, you might have a chance. >> we have two great pitchers. >> you're really cutting into my time. i have something really interesting to show you. another satellite that is going to fall to earth. this one a german one. here is a picture. we call it rosat for short. this one was a telescope that was launched in the early '90s and documented about 150,000 items there in the sky. but, even though it's smaller, it has a lot more heat resistant

material. 30 pieces may survive reentry and the heaviest one 1,700 pounds. we don't know where it's going to fall, but we think the end of next week and potentially next weekend. all right. lotes talk about a satellite, this one 20,000 miles up. looking at hurricane jova. winds at 75 miles per hour. this came onshore as a category 2 storm. haven't got tremendous reports of damage up through puerto vallarta and folks evacuated and likely some amount of damage and we'll report that as we get it. light to moderate rainfall from the ohio great lakes and river valley and up across the i-95 corridor. the tristate area of new york light tonight and tomorrow and could see a couple of three inches of rainfall with this. obviously, ground is already saturated. don't need any more and then another storm on the heels of that one. this one could bring across parts of the plains. we'll keep an eye on the satellite, guys. a week or so to watch it. see if we have that much more

time to follow the braves. >> he's a good sport, he really is. not. now, is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, does mitt romney's changing position on health care matter to you? the biggest thorn is romneycare. that's what his opponents call the health care plan that romney created in massachusetts when he was governor. it turns out the obama administration was entranced with romney's plan and according to nbc news obama officials met with romney's advisors to create obamacare. yes, both plans include a requirement to buy insurance. romney says, yeah, so. >> the truth is, our plan is different and the people of massachusetts, they don't like it, get rid of it. right now they favor it 3-1. i'm not running for governor of massachusetts. i'm running for president of the united states. as president, i will repeal obamacare, i'll grant a waiver on day one to get that started and i'll make sure we return to

the states what we had when i was governor, the right to care for our poor and the way we fought best for our respective states. >> here's romney on the day he signed that massachusetts law. >> when i set out to find a way to get everyone health insurance, i don't care less on how it works politically. in my view, it's the right thing to do. >> so, mitt romney was for the individual mandate before he was against it, at least on a national level. and he says, as president, you heard him, he will repeal the very health care law that he inspired. so, the talk back question for you today. does romney's changing position on health care matter to you? facebook.com/americanmorning. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your responses later this hour. a check of the early market action next. plus, how wall street may lose 10,000 jobs. which parts of the financial and banking sector will get hit the hardest? we'll tell you.

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27 minutes after the hour. european markets are up, too, after some stronger than expected manufacturing data surprised investors in europe. pepsi just reported it missed third quarter earnings expectations, but revenues were up for the quarter. a lot of weight on this report as pepsi just doesn't make pepsi, also the parent company of frito-lay, tropicana, gatorade and quaker oats. we've been hearing reports and rumors for week and now someone is saying it. wall street will cut 10,000 jobs by the end of next year. profits will fall for the security industry and wall street employees will see smaller bonuses, too. when you see wall street lose jobs its bankers all the way down to secretaries. buying your milk and cereal at the drugstore may save you time, but will not save you

cash. the average drugstore charges a full 50% more than the least expensive supermarket for groceries. up next, hip-hop's business boom. it's grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, but is its economic success leading to the art form's downfall? "american morning" back right after the break. ♪ we're centurylink ... we're committed to improving lives and linking americans to what matters most with honest, personal service... 5-year price-lock guarantees... consistently fast speeds ... and more ways to customize your technology. ♪

it is 30 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "american morning." the united states says it foiled a terror plot engineered by iran. this man now in custody. he's a 56-year-old u.s. citizen who also holds an iranian passport. the justice department accused of conspiring with mexican drug. iran's president calling the charges a fabrication. president obama says he now plans to break up his jobs plan into a series of smaller bills that will be introduced

individually. yesterday the $474 billion package failed to pass the senate. businessman herman cain said he's seen his political fortunes rise. he's now number two in the presidential race. cain was taking fire from behind with gop rivals ridiculing his 999 tax reform. >> i thought it was the price of a pizza when i first heard it. >> 999 will pass and it is not the price of a pizza because it has been well studied and well developed. >> one thing i would say is when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, i think the devil's in the details. >> thank you. >> cain says it's a bold solution, not a politicians solution. when hip-hop started in the late '70s, it was a cultural

movement. young adults in new york city exposing the problems in their neighborhood like drug abuse, racism, gang violence. at the time, corporate america ignored it, but not any more. here's soledad o'brien with this morning's black in america report. >> hip-hop has changed the nation and in his new back "tanning of america" steve stout said he knows how it happened. what does "tanning of america" mean? >> the next generation of kids. see the world through shared values. >> reporter: as a former record executive to urban campaign. like jay-z for reebok and behind justin limberlake's slogan for mcdonald's. >> i always look at the music and the art as the trojan horse for the culture. i could find authentic ways to

tap into the branch that hip-hop has created. >> reporter: but hip-hop was something that started from the street. writer nelson george says the partnership with big business is watering down the art form. >> what gets on the radio and most of america is not very content driven. it's more an inducement to dance and then leading it inducement to buy a particular brand of alcohol or clothing or car. >> reporter: forbes music editor says many hip-hop artists make more on endorsements than their recorded music. >> again, we're speaking about the music. most of it is just silly. i think that hip-hop created a culture and i think that that culture was meant to be shared. >> you said you can draw a direct line between hip-hop and 1600 pennsylvania avenue. >> that younger voter was open minded to an african-american president. as a result of the cultural sharing that we're discussing. i believe hip-hop was a main

driver of that cultural sharing. if using corporations helped spread that message, then, that's what it takes. >> reporter: reporting for in america, soledad o'brien, cnn, new york. up next, what can't dogs do? teachers across the country are using dogs in their classrooms to teach compassion and social responsibility and it's all part of an effort to reduce bullying in schools. so, what does being good to your pooch have to do with being good to your peers? how does it work? we have various special two and four-legged friends coming onset with us next. state farm. this is jessica. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny.

it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses,

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welcome back to "american morning" and cnn's continuing in depth coverage of the bullying crisis in america. if compassion and empathy are keys to combatting bullies, what better weapon to fight them than man's best friend. dogs are helping kids become better equipped to stand up for themselves and for others. joining us this morning is misty, a representative of the curriculum and penny who is a little beagle mix, adorable. two participants in the program.

everybody, welcome to the program. i think that dogs, you see dogs, for example, in nursing home and elderly care facilities and people, people are more engaged with fellow, their fellow man when there's a dog in the mix for some reason. misty, tell me how this empathy for a dog could help with empathy for their peers? >> empathy, when you're around a dog the research shows that you are happier. that you are less stressed. >> she's a little nervous. >> yeah. >> you're less anxious and that you experience more positive emotion and just being around a dog increases empathy. go ahead. >> how do you use it then in a classroom curriculum to use it sort of even, i hate to use the word subversively but without even knowing it you're teaching anti-bullying. >> you can have a live dog in the classroom or you can also use dog stories and activities. we learn about dogs and how

they, for example, communicate with each other. they, you know, use barking, we use speaking. you relate what dogs do when you talk about what humans do differently. we draw that back to being nice to each other. being compassionate and kind. >> right now you're doing this in a lot of different schools. k through 3 and 4 through 6 a similar program. one of the -- oh, one of the programs is wag more, bark less. what does that mean? that's one of the lessons. >> that lesson is about gossiping and how gossiping can hurt people and we talk about how dogs, when they're around us, they are happy and they're wagging and when people treat us nicely and they talk about us nicely, then we feel better. >> you know, mia at your school, not the school you're at now, but previous school, other kids weren't nice to you. >> no, they weren't. >> you're now an ambassador for this program. tell me a little bit how this is important to you and how you're trying to tell kids in your new school about empathy and compassion and not being mean to other kids.

>> it's kind of, it kind of tags along with the mu tt-i-grees curriculum. the work taught people how not to judge people by what you think they are and how you had to get to know a person before you can judge somebody. the curriculum really helped me see my side the way i was and my classmates. i really enjoyed the curriculum because it made me think that i was important. i had, i had an action in that curr curriculum. >> michael, do you think being around dogs makes kids nicer and opens them up a little bit? >> i do. when you act a certain way towards dogs, dogs can sense

like how you feel. like if you're scared, dogs can sense it. so, it's to try to help the kids calm down and like learn instead of like trying to be all disrespectful and it kind of teaches us to be, like not to be rude, but just like to respect each other and help each other out. >> that's interesting, too. that point about how dogs can sense the way you're acting and someone who is aggressive, a dog can sense that and responds. and a dog also just such a good sense about people. i love this dog. let me ask you something, misty. we know from the research that anti-bullying has to come from a lot of different levels. has it has to be more than a dog in the school once a month or once a week even. having a teach in control of the room and i know you have done research on this. part of the overall picture. a lot that has to be done in the whole culture of schools to

protect children. >> the climate of the school cannot be open to hostility. cannot be open to bullying and that really has to be modeled by the staff and by just the atmosphere. you feel respected. you see compassion and empathy throughout. >> i think it's fascinating that if we can't, if humans can't teach it to each other. if we can't each other how to behave, let's leave it to the dogs to try to help us. misty, maya, mike and penny, thanks for coming in for us. all this week at 8:00 p.m. eastern anderson cooper will bring attention to bullying crisis. cnn saturday night "bullying, it stops here" town hall led by anderson. morning headlines, next. 43 minutes after the hour. and m. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye,

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45 minutes past the hour. here are your morning headlines. markets open in just about 45 minutes. u.s. stock futures are trading slightly higher this morning. optimistic europe will maintain its debt crisis. herman cain surged to number two. cain came under attack during last night's debate for his 999 plan to reform the u.s. tax code. he defended the plan calling it a bold idea. the united states said it foiled a terror plot engineered by iran. this man in custody. manssor arrbab arbabsiar.

accusing tehran execute a saudi ambassador on american soil. the resort town of puerto vallarta getting pounded by hurricane jova. it has lost some steam after making landfall along mexico's pacific coast overnight. and billboards 2011 woman of the year is taylor swift. the 21-year-old singer is the youngest to receive the honor. swift's latest album has gone platinum five times and sold over 1 million copies in its first week. that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" back after a break. [ jill strange ] osteo bi-flex is a great product.

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get up. if you're on the east coast, you're late. mostly cloudy, 61 right now. showers and 62. that's a picture of new york city. it's just about the right time on the west coast in the middle of the country. for more than a decade, one fashion label has remained a hit on the runway. how has this high street fashion chain continued to thrive year after year? alina cho joins us with a fashion backstage pass. >> it wasn't always hot. you may be surprised to hear that the oldest fashion house in the world is not chanel or dior, but lanvin. it has been around since 1889. ten years ago it needed a facelift. one of the most beloved

designers came to a rescue. he may not look the part. but albaz has the face of a cherub and the golden touch. >> i think fashion has to be relevant for the moment. if you eat the fruit the day before or the day after, it's sour. it has to be right for the moment. try these ones. >> this 50-year-old designer has been making clothes for the moment as creative director of lanvin for ten years. resurrecting a label with a good name, but not much else into a luxury fashion force. you came to paris just for him? >> yes, yes. >> why? >> i think if you're going to see a show, his work is so spectacular. it's going to be worth it. >> they do come because he's able to do in fashion what few others can. create clothes that wow, but don't scream at you. you say your work is like a

whisper. explain that. >> i think that whispering is something very personal because when someone whisper to you, have to get really close to you. and this is a very intimate relationship. >> clothes both customers crave and critics adore. all around, there were raves for his latest collection for spring 2012. >> as soon as you put them on, you feel really good about yourself. >> a trendsetter, too. so much so when he created an affordable line for h&m last year, it sold out. this season he launched clothes for kids. taught cutour. with three to four-figure pricetags. miniature copies of mom's clothes from the most copy designer on the planet. how do you know you've made it? how do you define success? >> i don't.

oh, i never know. i mean, first of all, i think i'm always the worst. i mean, i think it's going to be a flow and i'm totally depressed. success is like a perfume. if you smell it, it's good. if you drink it, it's not good for you. >> reporter: >> he says the collection isn't ready until the clothes speak to him. >> weow, i see the world. when the dress tells me she's okay and she doesn't want to go else where, i know i have to leave her alone and let go. >> a designer that creates not just clothes, but a sensation. when you see a woman walking down the street wearing a lanvin dress, how does it feel? >> it touch me the most. i feel they chose me and i find it very, very personal. i just want to go and hug them and say thank you for doing that. how do you not love this man? before working at lanvan he was

the creative director until he was hired he was abruptly fired by his replacement, tom ford. he told me he thought about quitting fashion altogether and going to medical school. now, he says, you see, i don't have to be a doctor instead of giving you tylenol, i will give you a red dress. he was just a joy to be with. obviously, i had a lot of fun in paris, but he is a particularly, you know, sweet soul and he produces these wonderful clothes that, again, as i said, don't scream at you. you see how beautifully they flow down the runway and he's like a whisperrer, as he says. >> you look at these captains of the fashion industries and they're so different from the captains of other kinds of industries because he expressed this doubt about when he didn't know right away. others you profiled said the same thing. creative mixed with genius and doubt. >> you're absolutely right.

that's really estout of you to notice. do you love the show when you see it coming down the runway? he said i love it for those eight minutes and then the biggest mistake is i go home and somebody sends me the dvd and i watch it and i hate it. and he said, you know what, anyway, he said, someone told me that is what gets me back into the studio the next day. >> i'm just wondering, these clothes are beautiful. and they're works of art, but they're very expennive and there is a global, kind of depression thing going on across the country. i mean, what's business like? >> well, business is booming, frankly. and i'll tell you why. i think that what people who love fashion and want to invest in fashion feel is that, yes, this dress may be a four-figure dress, but maybe i'll invest in it, if i feel as though i'm going to keep it for 10 years or 15 years instead of investing in something that might be very of the moment. >> yeah.

>> and be the same price. but maybe i won't wear next season. i must say, the fashion inside world believes that lanvin does that. >> the opposite of the throw away consumer culture that we have sort of celebrated for 10 or 15 years. buy a lot of things cheap. but who has the money for that. it's fun to watch. it's really fun to watch. >> a top critic said to me something very interesting. we had enough of fast fashion. she said, this is art. and maybe you can't buy it, but maybe you can appreciate it. i think that's nice. >> you can see more of alina's special about art. it airs this saturday, the 15th of october at 2:30 p.m. eastern. coming up next, your answers to our talk back question of the morning. does mitt romney's changing position on health care matter? it's 56 minutes past.

talk back question this